


Fireworks (for Ranpoe week 2019, Day 3: Sun in Eyes/ Moon on Skin

by Mossanism



Category: bungou stray dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 17:11:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20549750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mossanism/pseuds/Mossanism
Summary: It's my first fic ever and predictable af but enjoy!fluff and angst





	Fireworks (for Ranpoe week 2019, Day 3: Sun in Eyes/ Moon on Skin

**Author's Note:**

> It's my first fic ever and predictable af but enjoy!
> 
> fluff and angst

“I’m sorry,” Ranpo said. Poe could hear misery in his voice.

“It’s alright, you don’t need to apologize…”

The detective was lying on the bed with most of his body hidden under a blanket with cats on them. His eyes were closed, and though it was hard to tell from the bluish light of the moon pouring in through the window, his skin had a red undertone from the fever. It came as a sort of surprise for Poe that Ranpo, who was always so full of energy and seemed invincible against… anything, really, was even capable of becoming sick.

Under different circumstances, Poe would’ve been delighted to be in Ranpo’s house. He often imagined being invited over for the first time, discussing the most trivial things with Ranpo, listening to his peremptory demands, playing with Karl..., anything would have made him happy. Seeing Ranpo sad and shivering in bed, however, was not what he had been picturing.

Poe tried to lighten up his mood.

“Really, it’s not a big deal… I’m not a big fan of crowds, anyway.”

Ranpo scowled up at him, pulling the covers up his chin.

“You’ve been looking forward to it for weeks. It _is_ a big deal. Don’t downplay it.”

“Well- ,” Poe tried to find a good reply to that, but he knew it would be useless. Like Ranpo had said, he had been talking about the summer festival nonstop since forever, contemplating on what to wear to where they could have the best view to what they would have in the food stalls, where they would have gone tonight if not for the call that boy from the agency... Atsushi, Poe recalled, asking if he could pick Ranpo up from work (though why the boy had chosen Poe for that particular job he had no idea).

When Poe had rushed to the agency, he found a very disgruntled- looking Ranpo on his usual seat, his head on his desk with a glass of water and an only half- eaten piece of cake in front of him. At first Poe assumed he had a stomach ache from overeating, Ranpo had it coming- but the doctor, Yosano, told him that Ranpo had a fever, probably just a cold, nothing to worry about, but he should be getting home early today.

When they arrived at Ranpo's place, which was around noon, Ranpo still had the energy to complain about everyone in the agency being overprotective, insisting he was perfectly fine. But gradually he became less talkative and didn't refuse when Poe said he ought to go to bed.

It would be a lie if Poe said he wasn't a little disappointed- even his usual abhorrence of crowds had seemed like a minor issue- but with Ranpo like this, going to a festival was the least of his worries. Besides, there was always a next time. Poe didn't think Ranpo had to be so devastated, to be honest.

Karl unwinded himself from Poe’s shoulders and leapt onto the sheets (which wasn’t a big fall since Poe was sitting on the edge of Ranpo’s bed), and curled up next to the detective. Ranpo turned and patted the raccoon’s head. Despite the situation, Poe smiled to himself. seeing Karl and Ranpo getting along so well was unbearably cute.

After a short silence, he noticed Ranpo was staring at the clock on the wall behind him. Poe looked over his shoulder. The hands of the timepiece pointed to six fifty.

Ranpo answered Poe’s silent question.

“The fireworks. They were supposed to start at seven.”

Poe tried to find something comforting to say but couldn't. 

Instead, he put a hand on Ranpo's. He wasn't sure if Ranpo enjoyed the contact at all, but after a moment he gave it a small squeeze.

.....

It was eight P.M., and Ranpo was already unconscious. He was frowning in his sleep, eyebrows brought together under his bangs, muttering something incomprehensible. He shuffled around a lot, but his hand was still grabbing tightly onto Poe's. Poe's right hand was getting sticky from the heat Ranpo was giving off, but he didn't have the heart to let go just yet. 

As he listened to the other man's slow breathing, he wondered what Ranpo was to him. 

They weren't enemies anymore, obviously.

The hostility he had against Ranpo had faded a long time ago. Poe himself sometimes forgot he spent six years plotting revenge on the man. 

But still, their friendship was a surprise, even to himself. Ranpo was confident, fearless and was always surrounded by people while Poe was… well, Poe. The only things he could be proud of, he supposed, were his works.

Some of them which he spent days and nights on solely to impress Ranpo.

Writing them, he would imagine the flash of glasses as Ranpo read, the smug look on his face after he put the pieces together with ease. Poe thought of the warmth that pooled in his stomach on the occasions where Ranpo praised him, the pang of jealousy whenever he saw him talking to someone else. 

He shook his head. He always had a possessive streak, but this was just pathetic. He decided not to dwell on it any longer.

And quite suddenly, he was hit by an idea. The excitement that ran through him was similar to what he felt when an excellent plot twist or an absolutely gemlike expression burst into his mind.

Making sure he didn’t wake him, he gently distangled his fingers from Ranpo’s. Then, being careful not to step on any creaky floorboards, he tiptoed out of his room. Even Karl didn’t wake up.

Poe stretched as he walked down the dark hallway to the living room. He had been sitting in the same position for such a long time his limbs hurt.

When he arrived in the dark room, he flicked on the light switch. He stood there with his eyes shut for a moment, momentarily blinded by the brightness. After his eyes adjusted, he went over and picked up his briefcase from the foot of the sofa, where he had left it.

He made himself comfortable on the somewhat springy seat and stuck a hand in his case, which was stuffed with random pieces of paper and several notebooks of all shapes and sizes, and pens that ran out of ink a long time ago. He knew using a laptop or his phone would be much more convenient, but he liked to stick to the old fashioned way.

After a lot of rummaging around and cursing, he managed to find a fresh notebook and a relatively new pen, thank god, and thought for a moment. Not too long, a quiet setting, maybe some food his friend could treat himself to. And unlike most of the things he wrote for Ranpo, this one didn’t need much agonizing over. It was going to be mainly description- which Poe was very good at.

Smiling at the familiar rush of power as his pen met the paper, he started to write.

.....

It was the next morning when Poe felt someone shaking him.

He squinted as sunlight rudely stabbed his eyes through his hair. 

"And I thought_ I _ was the one who had to be taken care of."

Poe's heart skipped a beat when he realized the owner of that voice. He looked up; somehow he had ended up in a lying position.

It was Ranpo, standing in front of him with Karl on his shoulders. His pyjamas were rumpled, and his hair looked as though a miniature hurricane had gone through it, but he looked much better than yesterday.

"Oh- good morning."

"Good morning."

Ranpo smirked, green eyes sparkling. 

"Tell me, Poe-kun, do you always hold onto your briefcase when you sleep?"

"Wha-", Poe looked down at himself and saw that- sure enough- he had his arms wrapped around the brown case, and blushed fiercely. It was hazy, but he vaguely remembered putting his finished short story in his case for safekeeping before closing his eyes to rest them awhile. He probably fell asleep right after that. He propped himself up into a sitting position.

"Um, no. It just... happened to be here." 

Ranpo raised his eyebrows but didn't push the matter. Instead he walked over to the other side of the sofa and sat down so he was facing Poe, their knees almost touching. 

Poe thought maybe Ranpo was going to say something- his expression had gone from teasing to serious- but Ranpo kept his eyes down, stroking Karl as he stretched out on his lap.

Poe decided to be the first to speak.

"So... how are you feeling?"

Ranpo looked up at him.

"I think I'm pretty okay now, actually."

“That’s wonderful.”

The corner of Ranpo’s mouth twitched, reflecting Poe's smile.

"So...", Poe trailed off. Doubt started to grow inside him. What if going into the story now was not a good idea? Ranpo looked alright to Poe, but maybe he still had a fever? Perhaps he should wait for a better timing. 

"So... what?"

Ranpo was looking at him, impatient, and as usual, Poe couldn't do anything but tell the truth when Ranpo looked at him like that.

"I just thought... I mean, if you want to, of course... maybe you could look at my new mystery?"

How _ smooth, _ Poe thought to himself sarcastically.

Ranpo's eyes lit up, much to Poe's relief."A new mystery?”

Poe nodded. 

"So that's why..."

Ranpo glanced at the briefcase. Keeping things hidden from Ranpo was impossible.

Ranpo reached over, picked up the briefcase and fished out the notebook Poe wrote in last night (though Poe had no idea how Ranpo found the right one). 

He grinned devilishly.

"Okay, it's on," Ranpo rubbed his hands together.

Poe took the book from him before he could open it.

"You have to change clothes first."

.....

"This place is gorgeous." Ranpo breathed, looking around.

Poe smiled.

"I'm glad you like it."

The two were standing in the middle of a rather small, circular meadow that was surrounded by trees. There were flowers here and there, and they swayed softly in the occasional breeze. Several white petals floated towards them. Ranpo caught one and stuffed it in the pocket of his detective clothes. 

Karl was sitting at Poe's feet, sniffing the air. When he apparently decided it was safe, he curled up on the carpet of grass.

Though it was still morning in the real world, it was nighttime here. The sky was a dark purple, but the stars provided enough light for them to see their surroundings. 

Ranpo scanned the area, looking for possible threats, corpses, anything worth deducing. Seeing none, he looked up at Poe.

"Where's the mystery?"

"Over there."

Poe pointed to a piece of paper that was pasted onto a nearby tree.

"Perfect."

Ranpo approached the tree, but Poe put a hand out in front of him.

Ranpo pouted.

"What _ now _?"

"Wait... it's about to start."

Just as the words left Poe's mouth, a loud whooshing sound came from somewhere above. Ranpo turned- and made a noise that was between a squeal and a shout.

"This is-?"

Strings of fire were travelling higher and higher up the sky until they burst into a brilliant shower of colors- crimson, violet, turquoise, any there was to name- lighting up the clearing.

Ranpo looked back at Poe. For once, he seemed speechless. 

When he finally opened his mouth, his voice was very quiet, not at all like his usual tone.

"You shouldn't have."

Another set of fireworks went up. Poe couldn't see Ranpo's expression.

"Well, you looked really down yesterday, so... you know." Poe gestured to the scene. "It's not that I didn't enjoy it-"

Before he could finish, Ranpo had his arms wrapped around him, his face in Poe's shirt, squeezing with all his strength. It was the most abrupt, violent hug Poe ever experienced in his life, but he felt himself going warm all over. As he patted Ranpo on the back, he was grateful that his hair covered most of his face, which was probably redder than the fireworks.

They just stood there like that for a few more moments- until someone's stomach growled.

Ranpo laughed as they broke apart. He didn't look at all embarrassed.

"Breakfast?"

Poe pointed to a space behind them.

A blanket and a basket of cupcakes, sandwiches and bottles of water materialized in front of them. 

Once again, Poe was pleased at the look on Ranpo's face. He doubted anyone else got to see the detective's surprised expression as much as he did.

They sat themselves down on the blanket. Karl joined them and started examining the food before the two humans did.

Ranpo picked up a cupcake, but paused and looked up at Poe, suspicious.

“Wait a minute, they don't happen to be poisoned, do they?”

Poe scoffed. 

“You know I wouldn’t.”

Ranpo grinned up at him.

“I know, I just thought I'd ask." he took a bite, then another. Soon he was on his third cupcake. Poe was glad he was regaining his regular appetite.

As they sat on the blanket, the fireworks bursting in reds and greens and golds, Poe looked at Ranpo. He was once again glad that R couldn't see his face.

He admired everything about the man who sat across from him, his intelligence, his confidence, but this was probably the first time he appreciated just how beautiful he was. The curve of his nose, his cheeks, the way those emerald eyes followed the lights shooting up, expanding, then dying out. The dark hair that fell across his forehead. His skin bathing itself in the moonlight.

And he realized, his heart squeezing up on itself, what Ranpo was to him. 

But for now, this was enough, Poe thought as another bright mixture of colors went up.

As long as Ranpo was happy, he was happy.

.....

(Epilogue)

After the fireworks ended, Ranpo ran over to the piece of paper that was on the tree, eager. He knew that solving it would send them back to his dull old house, but he couldn't pass up something so juicy. He was also curious of what Poe had managed to cram into a single sheet of paper. The things he had for Ranpo were normally much, much longer, even if Ranpo only had to read the first few pages to know the culprit.

As he came closer to the tree, however, he realized there was nothing written on the paper. He extracted it carefully from the bark and flipped it. Like the other side, it was blank. He turned around to glare at Poe, who had a sleeping Karl in his arms.

Poe remained silent, but even through the heavy bangs, it was obvious that he was trying not to laugh. Damn, he was getting good at this. It was annoying, but in a sort of good way. 

Ranpo examined the sheet again, looking for codes, studying the length of its edges, even put it in front of his nose to _ smell _ it, but still, nothing. He didn't have to look behind to see his friend's expression. He could practically feel Poe's amusement.

Ranpo looked around him. A beautiful clearing, fireworks, a seemingly plotless story...nothing.

Then Ranpo's eyes widened.

"I got it! There _ is _no mystery!"

As soon as he said it, the world around them started to melt away, and they were consumed by a bright white light.

Ranpo wanted to keep his eyes open, to remember this place as long as possible, but the whiteness was blinding. 

When he opened them again, they were back in his living room. The book was at their feet, the pages still glowing from the magic his friend cast on them.

They looked at each other for a moment. Then they burst out laughing. 

As the late morning sun poured in through the curtains, Ranpo marveled at how lucky he was to have a friend like Poe. Apart from the few people he met in his life, Poe was the only one who could keep up with him, challenge him to these games, even, and it was, well, nice. When Poe was around, he didn't feel like an outsider.

The reason why he'd wanted to take Poe to see fireworks in the first place was because he wanted a way to tell him that somehow, but, well. He had to find another opportunity sometime soon.

  



End file.
